The real problem, according to experts, is that it winds up smothering other native plants.

The vine first showed up in Greenwich in 2000 and has spread like, well a weed, into 15 Connecticut towns and has even crept north into Massachusetts.

Scientists at the University of Connecticut want you to help by letting them know when you spot the "Kudzu of the North" because this plant is popping up on private property and it would take lots of time and money for state employees to go door-to-door looking for new plant populations, Logan Senack, CT Invasive Plant Coordinator, said in an e-mail.